Wynkyn de Worde

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.

Copyright The Columbia University Press

Wynkyn de Worde (wĬng´kĬn də wôrd, wûrd), d. 1535, English printer, whose original name was Jan van Wynkyn. He was born at Wörth in Alsace and probably accompanied William Caxton to England in 1476. He assisted in the work of Caxton at Westminster and after Caxton's death took over his business. His independent work began in 1491 and continued until his death. At first he used only typefaces that Caxton had used, but to these he later added other styles. Wynkyn de Worde printed more than 700 books, including the first English example of music printed from moving type, Higden's Polychronicon (1495).

Cite this article Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.